Dead Man's Redemption

Chapter - 2 The Cursed Ship

The violent crashing of waves against the ship's hull produced a thunderous noise that roused the young girl. She flinched with pain at the rash opening of her eyes which sent a stinging pain in her skull. Elena failed to determine anything - no memory, not even a recollection of what occurred last night, came to her, despite how much she strained her brain. Slowly, the young girl's senses grew back as she felt the cold and hard surface beneath her. Her unrestrained locks were damp. She tried to concentrate on her blurry vision, which only sent another wave of piercing pain down her skull. But eventually, the scene became clear as Elena noticed the roof she was accustomed to witnessing first thing in the morning had altered. A rusty, moss-covered and damp wall had taken the place of the smooth pearl-coloured roof, which had some of the finest carvings on the four edges. The realization struck her late, but it did strike indeed, as she quickly posed herself up, only to increase the pain in her skull that almost blinded her. Clutching her head in an attempt to ease the ache, Miss Cunningwell managed to increase the pain as her soft skin touched the open wound on the right side of her forehead. Elena breathed heavily to calm her pain, and it aided a little. Pushing the pain aside, the young girl decided to investigate the change in her surrounding. Very slowly. Elena opened her eyes and glanced at her surroundings with her vision which was still a little blurry. She realized that she certainly was not in her chamber. This place was worse than the prisoner's cell of Verano. The metal of the slab she was sitting on, and the bars of her cell were badly corroded and covered with a layer of seaweed and moss. Fright infused her body as she felt her muscles stiffen and her heart palpitating thunderously against her chest. This place was strange, and she found herself all alone, on her own in this cursed place. Breathing was becoming an arduous task for Elena, who found blood on her hand, adding to her hysteria. Tracing the source of pain on her forehead, soon her frail fingers found the open flesh wound, which made her flinch on touching it. The pieces of the puzzle were not falling into their place no matter how much she strained her mind. Miss Cunningwell could not remember what happened last night, how she ended up on a ship's prisoner's cell, but most importantly - who was her captor? What was that he wanted from her?

Her chain of thoughts was broken by a thudding sound. The sound of a heavy gate opening was heard. Light entered the dark brig as Elena saw two male figures descending the stairs. The bright light from outside made it hard for her to see their faces. One of them struggled to walk upright as the other man pushed him. Seizing the moment the young girl spoke -

"Oh dear sir, I must ask for your help. What is this place?" Her refined voice echoed in the brig as she walked up to the bars to have a clear look at the men. Her request went unheard as the men made their way towards the cell next to hers and in those brief Elena caught glimpse of the men. Their skin was like no human she had ever seen. A dark-coloured scaly substance covered the skin of those men but what horrified the soul out of her body was their faces. Those pirates' face was beyond deformed, almost as if it was sculpted that way by the gods. Her quivering foot took a step back out of horror as that man shot a disgusted look at her. Elena kept taking steps back until she felt the cold slab attached to the wall while the pirate, whose head reminded her of a kind of shark she read about in a book, locked the other man in the cell. The young girl could feel her mind going numb at an alarming rate as yet another realization struck her - her abductors were the demons from the depth of the seas, and it failed to help her feel any better.

Elena stayed rooted on the metal slab as the deformed pirate locked someone and left. The entire time his eyes were fixed upon her. She felt suffocated under his stare, but she very well knew there was nothing she could do, and any of her actions could end up bad for her. Inhaling deeply, Miss Cunningwell pulled her legs to her chest and sat there completely still. The only movement was of her breathing. For a long time, the brig was cast in eerie silence which was broken by the sound of a match and the dark and claustrophobic place was filled with the warm light of the lantern the new inmate ignited. Elena had no desire to see the appearance of the other prisoner but was eventually forced to glance at him when she heard his pained voice -